1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to snowmobiles, and more particularly, to a personal snowmobile capable of floating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Snowmobiles of the type popularized by Joseph Armand Bombardier in the early 1960s have become a necessary transport vehicle in the high north. Eskimos and other Arctic residents utilize snowmobiles for hunting, trapping, and other life-supporting activities.
The northern Canadian Arctic, however, consists of islands separated by expanses of the Arctic Ocean mostly frozen in winter. The hunter or trapper must often travel on ice. In the case of the Arctic Ocean, the ice is always in movement depending on the direction of the wind, currents, etc. This ice movement often creates open water, or thin ice surfaces Such moving ice is treacherous, and snowmobile riders can break through with their vehicles into the near freezing water. A human being can die in a matter of minutes in such freezing water.
Snowmobiles of a conventional construction, that is, having an aluminum frame, have been provided with flotation inserts, but such vehicles will float almost fully submerged, particularly when supporting the weight of a rider. In such conditions, the rider may be in water literally up to his neck. The rider might not drown, but could die of exposure unless he is immediately pulled from the water.